Protecting Your Retirement Before a Second Marriage

Divorce at any age can cause a tremendous amount of stress, both psychological and financial. But when a baby boomer ends a marriage late in life, it can make preparing for retirement especially challenging. Here are some ideas to help a person considering a second marriage:

Start with a simple discussion with a future spouse about your assets and liabilities. A couple should discuss their financial goals and philosophy and share information about financial challenges.

Make sure your estate plan is up to date. You need to be extra cautious if you have children from a previous marriage. Clearly spell out the assets you wish to leave to children and other heirs. With the help of a financial planner, you can be fair to your future spouse while providing for your children and heirs.

Your will and beneficiary designations need to be updated for many major life events, including the birth of a child, death of a family member, marriage, divorce and remarriage.

You should also consider a prenuptial agreement. These agreements are potentially divisive, however, for the right people they can be planning tools. An indispensable component of any such agreement is the full and frank disclosure of all assets, liabilities and income of the parties. Also, each party must have independent counsel.

Prenuptial agreements can help prevent conflicts between children and the new spouse in the event that a parent passes away.

If you are entering your second or third marriage, you may need to make significant changes to your estate plan, beneficiary designations and even your emergency contacts. Make sure that all the documents you leave behind clearly spell out your wishes. Take the time to do proper estate planning, because a prenup may say one thing and the estate plan may say something different. Take the time with your professionals to make sure the prenuptial is consistent with your estate planning documents.1

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